What does this mean for Irish citizens? It means you can be convicted for trashing someone’s beliefs if you cause “outrage among a substantial number of the adherents of that religion.” (Again, what is a “substantial number”? Who knows.)

Paliban Daily offers up some frightening consequences, given that “blasphemy” isn’t very well-defined:

Atheists can be prosecuted for saying that God is imaginary. That causes outrage.

Pagans can be prosecuted for saying they left Christianity because God is violent and bloodthirsty, promotes genocide, and permits slavery.

Christians can be prosecuted for saying that Allah is a moon god, or for drawing a picture of Mohammed, or for saying that Islam is a violent religion which breeds terrorists.

Jews can be prosecuted for saying Jesus isn’t the Messiah.

Those aren’t all accurate… for example, Jews can say Jesus isn’t the Messiah because their religious beliefs are protected under the law. But I suspect if they went around saying as much, holding posters that said he wasn’t the Messiah in a dickish sort of way, and made a “substantial number” of Christians angry, then we’d have problems.

We’re also told that academic and theological debate isn’t subject to the rules. But again, it’s tough to say what constitutes those kinds of debates. Can bloggers tear apart religious arguments and those who make them if they’re not professors? Can Irish people call certain Catholic priests rapists and attribute it to their faith and just say it’s part of theological debate? Can we call out certain adherents of a fundamentalist version of Islam as terrorists if that is warranted? Either everything in these categories is blasphemy or nothing is.

Remember how we all got up in arms when the spineless members of the UN passed that resolution against blasphemy. We were blasted left and right for being alarmist, fear-mongers, cry babies. This resolution has no teeth, they said. It is non binding, they said. You have nothing to fear, they said. Well apparently Ireland wasn’t reading those comments because it appears they are trying to pass their own anti blasphemy law.

Speaking after an Oireachtas committee meeting, Mr Ahern yesterday defended a fine of up to €100,000 that will be imposed on blasphemers.

Gardai will now have the power to seize blasphemous material from the home or any other premises used by a person convicted of blasphemy.

Imagine that! €100,000 fine for reading “God is not great” (from now on expect me to plug Christopher Hitchens at any opportunity. That guy is just superb and I have to shake hands with him at some point in the future. Anyone can help arrange that? I’m in NYC!) Now, was I right or was I right to be alarmed at the stupid UN resolution?

What is this nonsense from the United Nations trying to pass a binding anti-blasphemy resolution that would make it illegal, in the US, to be blasphemous? I don’t care, no let me rephrase that, we as Americans should not care, if anyone is offended by anyone else expressing an opinion. We don’t care if you are Muslim or Christian, Jew or Hindu, believer or atheist, black or white. Who you are, and what you believe in or not, are of no consequence when matters of freedom of expression are concerned. We must not allow free speech to be curtailed to protect the fragile egos of those who want to trample all over other people’s rights without so much as a critique being thrown their way.

They want not to be criticized? They want not to be called out for their stupidity? Well fuck that I say, because you will be criticized, ridiculed and called idiots so long as you insist on engaging in idiotic behavior. And I for one am appalled that the UN in its wisdom (or in this case complete lack thereof) should bend to the pressure of the Islamic nations, the ones that are responsible for the most horrific trespasses against human rights being perpetrated today. These are the countries were honor killings and sexual mutilations are the order of the day, where bloggers get imprisoned for daring to write what’s on their mind, where people are killed over cartoons in a newspaper thousands of miles away! And they are the ones who are offended? We as humans should be offended by their actions! We should pass a resolution that forbids them from being such assholes in the name of their religion and their backwards traditions, not cut our own balls, hand them over to these fucktards so that they can stuff them back in our mouths! Because that is what in effect the UN is doing.

I am offended by their very existence. I am offended that people like them belong to the same species as we do. I am offended by their actions. I should not be forced to shut up or pay the consequences. Not in a democracy! Not in a civilized country! Not in the United States of America!

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